October  30,  1902. 
397 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AXD 
CO  TTA  CE  GA  R LEXER, 
Sophro-Laelia  x  Heatonensis. 
An  interesting  and  decidedly  attractive  bigener,  of  sharply 
defined  form.  The  sepals  are  very  pointed,  21in  long,  and 
ta'pering.  The  petals  are  oval  acuminate,  slightly  sinuous  at  the 
apex,  and,  like  the  sepals,  are  rich  dark  crimson  scarlet.  The 
lip  is  long,  narrow,  and  protrudes  forward.  Colour  purple.  A 
first-class  certificate  was  awarded  for  it  to  Messrs.  Charlesworth 
and  Co.,  Heaton,  Bradford,  at  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society’s 
meeting  on  October  7.  The  parentage  is  Sophronitis  grandi- 
flora  and  Lselia  purpurata.  Our  illustration  of  a  flower  is  from 
a  drawing  by  Mr.  Geo.  Shayler. 
The  Week's  Cultural  Notes. 
The  flowers  of  Dendrobium  chrysanthum  being  now  over,  it 
would  naturally  seem  advisable  to  keep  the  plants  dormant  for 
a  time;  but,  as  a  rule,  they  will  not  rest.  Very  often,  in  fact, 
the  basal  shoots  are  2in 
or  3in  in  length  by  now, 
and  the  best  thing  to  do 
is  to  place  them  in  a 
good  light,  and  keep 
them  gently  moving  in 
the  warm  house  through 
the  winter.  The  produc¬ 
tion  of  roots  from  the 
stem  must  be  antici¬ 
pated,  and  new  compost 
given  to  all  that  need  it 
before  this  takes  place. 
It  is  not  a  plant  that 
likes  too  frequent  dis¬ 
turbance  at  the  root, 
and  frequently  fails  to 
flower  fairly  afterwards. 
A  very  beautiful  plant 
row  in  flower  is  Oncidium 
•Jonesianum.  It-  belongs 
to  the  bulbous  group, 
but  its  leaves,  being 
large  and  vigorous,  seem 
apparently  to  serve 
much  the  same  purpose 
as  pseudo-bulbs.  At 
any  rate,  it  is  important 
to  get  each  leaf  or  set 
of  leaves  well  finished 
up  in  autumn,  and  as  far 
as  possible  keep  them 
quiet  in  winter.  Al¬ 
though  the  flowers  last 
a  long  time  in  good  con¬ 
dition,  healthy  plants 
seemed  to  take*  no  harm 
from  their  being  left  on,  provided  the  roots  are  kept  moist. 
When  the  flowers  fade  keep  the  plants  in  a  good  light,  a  rather 
cooler  position,  and  just  moist  at  the  roots.  Diminish  the 
water  supply  as  winter  comes  on,  until  for  a  week  or  two  in 
the  darkest  days  they  may  be.  kept  perfectly  dry. 
The  little  repotting  remaining  to  be  done  should  be 
attended  to  without  further  delay.  It  will  be  principally 
devoted  to  autumn  flowering  Cattleyas  and  late  plants  of 
earlier  blooming  species  that  root  at  this  season.  The  showy 
and  beautiful  C.  Bowringiana,  for  instance,  usually  sends  out 
a  new  tier  of  roots  now  or  shortly,  and  should  the  compost  be 
in  a  bad  condition,  it  is  better  to  risk  the  disturbance  and  repot 
now,  even  before  flowering,  than  to  allow  fresh,  young, 
healthy  roots  to  enter  it.  The  same  applies  to  C.  labiata,  C. 
Gaskelliana,  C.  gigas,  Lselia  elegans,  and  crispa ;  in  short,  any 
that  now  show  a  disposition  to  root. 
In  the  cool  house  flower  spikes  are  rapidly  advancing,  and 
great  care  and  watchfulness  are  needed  to  prevent  the  attacks 
of  insects.  Slugs  and  small  snails  are  particularly  fond  of 
those  of  Oncidium  tigrinum,  Odontoglossums  of  the  crispum 
and  similar  types,  and  others,  and  only  by  constant  care  can 
their  efforts  to  get  at  them  be  thwarted.  Search  for  them  at 
night  with  a  lantern.  Trap  them  in  hollowed  out  Potatoes  and 
under  Lettuce  leaves.  Place  a  little  cotton  wool  around  the 
base  of  the  bulbs  carrying  the  spikes,  and  when  valuable 
varieties  are  concerned  place  these  on  an  inverted  pot  in  the 
centre  of  a  flat  vessel  of  water,  carefully  noting  that  no  part  of  the 
plant  makes  a  bridge  over  which  the  insects  may  travel. — H.  R.  R. 
Growing  Bulbs. 
1  here  are  more  ways  of  growing  bulbs  for  our  rooms  other¬ 
wise  than  in  soil,  and  at  the  same  time  good  results  obtained. 
Hyacinths',  for  instance,  do  exceedingly  well  if  grown  in  moss. 
Fill  a.  flower-pot  half  full,  pressing  i-t  very  tight,  then  place  the 
bulb  in  the  centre,  covering  it  entirely  and  pressing  the  moss 
tightly  round  it.  Keep  it  damp  by  standing  the  pot  in  a  saucer 
cf  water  and  keeping  it  in  a  dark  place  for  six  weeks,  after  which, 
bringing  it  gradually  to  the  light.  I  have  seen  some  grand  spikes 
obtained  in  this  way.  Narcissus  also  do  well  when  grown  like 
this  and  last  equally  well. 
One  of  the  prettiest  baskets  I  ever  saw  was  one  filled  with 
Snowdrops  growing  in  Sphagnum  moss.  Care,  however,  should 
be  taken  to  obtain  this  in  a  living,  fresh  state,  as  the  green  colour 
cf  the  moss  enhances  the  beauty  of  these  early  spring  favourites. 
I  he  bulbs  should  be  planted  thickly,  which  bloom  freely  and  come 
much  cleaner  than  when  grown  in  soil ;  and  I  have  also  found 
them  last  much  longer  if  kept  cool.  Scilla  Siberica  also  thrives 
well  in  moss,  and  if  planted  with  the  Snowdrops  has  a  very 
pleasing  effect.  In  growing  bulbs  in  this  way  it  is  essential  not 
|  to  force  them,  or  they  are  apt  to  come  blind.  Hyacinths,  especi- 
j  ally,  very  often  fail  through  being  kept  too  warm  in  the  early 
1  stages  cf  growth.  The  cooler  they  are  kept  the  better  and  more 
certain  the  bloom.  Often¬ 
times  complaints  are 
made  that  the  Hyacinths 
have  only  an  inch  or  so 
of  bloom,  and  gradually 
die  off.  This  is  invari¬ 
ably  caused  by  being 
brought  to  fhe  light 
before  the  roots  have 
grown  sufficiently 
strong,  and  by  being 
placed  in  a  warm  room, 
causing  the  flower  spike 
to  appear  before  the 
leaves  are  any  way 
developed.  There  is 
another  cause  for  fail¬ 
ures  with  bulbs,  and 
that  is  in  obtaining 
them  so  very  late  in  the 
season.  Many  joeople 
delay  buying  their  bulbs 
until  the  end  of  Novem¬ 
ber,  and  even  as  late  as 
the  middle  of  December, 
which  is  far  too  late  in 
order  to  obtain  good 
results,  and  very  often 
no  results  at  all.  The 
bulbs  by  this  time  are 
dried  out,  and  as  often 
as  not  only  throwing 
exceedingly  poor  flowers, 
and  sometimes  none  at 
all,  causing  disappoint¬ 
ment  to  the  grower  and 
a  bad  opinion  of  the  bulb 
merchant.  October  is  undoubtedly  the  best  month  for  all  bulbs 
except,  of  course,  the  early  forcing  varieties,  which  should  be 
potted  as  soon  as  received  from  the  bulb  farms.  There  are  differences 
cf  opinion  as  to  changing  the  water  of  Hyacinths  grown  in  glasses. 
I  notice  in  one  gardening  paper  a  correspondent  advises  changing 
it  at  least  twice  a  week.  This,  I  think,  is  a  great  deal  too  often. 
If  a  lump  of  charcoal  is  placed  in  each  glass  I  hardly  think  the 
water  need  be  changed  at  all.  Certainly  not  oftener  than  twice 
during  the  growing  season.  It  should,  however,  be  replenished 
as  it  evaporates.  Supports  should  always  be  used  for  the  spikes 
to  avoid  them  falling  over  and  breaking.  Spraying  with  Hughes’ 
Aphicide  is  also  beneficial  to  the  bloom  when  expanding. — 
H.  Kitley. 
Liverpool  and  the  Importation  of  Canadian  Fruit. 
A  large  consignment-  of  exceptionally  choice  and  well 
developed0 specimens  of  Canadian  Apples  has  just  been  received 
by  Sir  Alfred  L.  Jones  (Messrs.  Elder,  Dempster,  and  Co.).  This 
shipment  has  been  specially  forwarded  to  Sir  Alfred  by  a  Minister 
of  the  Canadian  Government,  with  the  object  of  demonstrating 
the  rapid  advance  that  the  Dominion  is  making  in  the  cultivation 
of  choice  fruits.  The  following  varieties  are  included  in  this 
shipment: — Twenty-Ounce  Pippin,  Northern  Spy.  llibston 
Pippin,  Blenheim  *  Pippin,  Emperor  Alexander,  North  Star, 
Gravenstein,  and  Wealthy,  Ac.  These  extraordinarily  fine  Apples 
have  been  entrusted  by  Sir  Alfred  Jones  to  Mr .  I  hoinas  Dowd, 
fruiterer,  of  Moorfields,  by  whom  they  will  be  exhibited  during 
the  next  few  days. 
Sophro=  Laelia  X  HcatonenAs. 
